In Loving Memory of Lil Bub

Lil Bub, the diminutive, permanently kitten-like cat whose unusual appearance and irrepressible charm made her one of the internet's most beloved animal celebrities, died on December 1, 2019, in her sleep at home in Bloomington, Indiana. She was eight years old. Born on June 21, 2011, as the runt of a feral litter found in a tool shed in rural Indiana, Bub was adopted by musician Mike Bridavsky. She suffered from a rare combination of genetic conditions, including feline dwarfism, polydactyly, and an underdeveloped lower jaw that left her tongue permanently protruding. She also had osteopetrosis, a condition causing her bones to grow progressively denser. Where another animal might have been defined by her disabilities, Bub was defined by her apparent indifference to them. She radiated a wide-eyed, tongue-out contentment that was impossible to fabricate and difficult to resist. Her first photographs, posted online in 2012, went viral almost immediately. Bub's legacy extended well beyond internet fame. Lil Bub's Big Fund, established in partnership with the ASPCA, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animals in need. She starred in a documentary that won the Tribeca Film Festival's online audience award in 2013. Her genome was sequenced by researchers studying her unique genetic mutations. In her final years, Bub battled a persistent bone infection that limited her mobility but never diminished her spirit. She continued to purr, to gaze at visitors with those enormous green eyes, and to project an aura of gentle wonderment. Lil Bub was a small, strange, wonderful cat who should not have survived her first weeks of life. She lived for eight years, raised a fortune for animals less fortunate than herself, and reminded several million people that beauty has nothing to do with perfection.